The planets, Jupiter and Saturn are said to be so close to one another in the night sky and conjunction will be visible tonight December 21, at 18:27 (UTC) after the two planets have been dominating the night sky this December.
The rare phenomenon called, “The Great Conjunction, a “Gathering of Giants”, witnessed by the famous astronomer Galileo Galilei when he was alive will once again occur and will be visible to earth.
This rare phenomenon of the gassy behemoths will look like one star: the Christmas star which will the for the first time in 800 years. Since 1623 about 397 years ago, this is the closest the planets appeared and will be witnessed again in 2080.
“You can imagine the solar system to be a racetrack, with each of the planets as a runner in their own lane and the Earth toward the centre of the stadium,” “From our vantage point, we’ll be able to see Jupiter on the inside lane, approaching Saturn all month and finally overtaking it on December 21.” Henry Throop, an astronomer in the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., said in a NASA statement.
If you miss tonight, you can experience another one 20 years later but less impressive as the planets will appear 11 times farther apart, or a 1.1-degree separation.
Many people across the globe are preparing to watch this rare phenomenon as it happens once in a lifetime.
To watch the great conjunction, look into the southwestern sky after sunset in the Northern Hemisphere to see the duo shining brightly.
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Renate is a lawyer, publicist, and writer. She believes that education and information is the key to developing and shaping Africa. In her free time, she paints beautiful art pieces on canvas. Renate believes that life is a perception, and you live it the way you perceive it.
